HARROGATE, Tenn. – The No. 16-ranked Railsplitters (16-3, 13-3 SAC) have successfully revenged both their early season conference losses, routing Wingate (16-5, 12-5 SAC) inside Tex Turner Saturday afternoon, on an emotional day where the No. 15 jersey was retired for legendary Railsplitter, Dorian Pinson.
 
Six Railsplitters finished in double-digits in Saturday's 13th conference victory of the season, including Me'Kell Burries game-high 19 points, to go along with three boards and an assist. Burries finished a remarkable six-for-eight from beyond the arc, setting a career-high for triples made in a game.
 
Chase Rankin has never wavered at the point guard position this season, and continued his excellent form in Saturday's rematch of South Atlantic Conference leaders. The Purdue Northwest transfer racked up the contest's only double-double, dishing out 12 assists to his teammates, in addition to 13 points, including a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line.
 
Jordan Guest was again a matchup nightmare for the opposition, as the California native finished one board shy of collecting yet another double-double, posting 16 points, two assists and nine rebounds on the afternoon.
 
Alex Dahling (12 points), Martez Brown (12 points) and Matthew Sells (11 points) all exploited openings in the Bulldogs defense, maintain the Railsplitters spot atop the summit of the SAC. Dahling posted a season-high seven assists against Wingate.
 
In an opening 15 minutes that saw a lead change on six occasions between the Railsplitters and the Bulldogs, the No. 16-ranked team in the nation separated themselves from Wingate in the last five minutes of the first half, pushing the lead out to 18 heading to the break.
 
The scorching finish to Saturday's first half was enough for another victory in the win-column, as LMU and Wingate both scored 54 in Saturday's second half, as LMU comfortably earned revenge 102-84.
 
Jeremiah Samarrippas' No. 16-ranked squad again displayed another extremely efficient offensive performance, shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor, making 35 of their 61 attempts.
 
Through a couple hot streaks over Saturday's 40 minutes, the Bulldogs still managed to shoot over 40 percent from the field, although a defensively sound performance from the Railsplitter defense was still more than enough for an 18-point victory margin. A more tightly contested matchup on the glass, the Railsplitters pulled through collecting 36 boards, topping Wingate's 32.
 
A touching ceremony was held for the jersey retirement of former Railsplitter Dorian Pinson inside Tex Turner following the conclusion of the Wingate matchup, where family, friends and many former teammates and staff gathered to honor the life of the decorated Railsplitter. Pinson was a four-year member of the program and earned all-conference honors each year, cultivating with an All-SAC First-Team honor his senior season. He remains cemented in the LMU record books as he sits at first in program history in defensive rebounds with 719, third in total rebounds with 900 and sixth in assists with 421.
 
A pivotal week in this year's South Atlantic Conference regular season saw LMU matched up against two SAC leaders entering this week, as the No. 16 Railsplitters have now defeated Carson-Newman and Wingate, cementing their place atop the conference with a joint 13-3 best record with Queens.
 
UP NEXT…
The No. 16 Railsplitters hit the road for the next two weeks, traveling to Anderson, Coker, UVA-Wise and Newberry. LMU takes on the Trojans this Wednesday in South Carolina at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms —@LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram — for complete coverage of Railsplitter basketball through the 2021-22 season.